This is a follow up to a piece that was published yesterday. In it, I provided some practical advice about what some of the most important features and elements to look for in a proper wine storage fridge. Last year I purchased two Vinotemp 34-bottle capacity wine fridges.
After cutting the cardboard, making a mess of the Styrofoam and plastic, I then set my two fridges side by side and just looked at them. My first real wine fridges! Black, sleek, clean, inviting, alluring, SEXY… yeah, baby, I’m going to age some wine!
Once I got over the initial excitement, I decided, for once, to read the instructions. With super easy to follow instructions, not filled with tons of irrelevant information, the assembly was a total breeze.
The box says 34 bottles. In the online comments, I had read some complaints of people having trouble fitting all 34 bottles in the fridge. Bordeaux bottles are slightly more robust than the standard red wine bottle, which does create an issue if you are Bordeaux centric in your collecting habits. There is a similar problem with Chardonnay, Syrah and Pinot Noir bottles. The bottom storage area can be used for storing non standard shaped bottles, and can fit at least 4 bottles.
One thing of note is that the door of the fridge encompasses the entire front of the fridge, so I would recommend you put the fridge on a hard surface. Placed on carpet, the fridge sinks down making it difficult to open and close its door. To avoid that problem, use your fridge as a proverbial time capsule; in other words, don’t open the door anytime soon!With the wine in the fridges, it’s time to turn them on. Referring back to the instructions on where the plug goes, how to unlock the lock feature, and how to set the temperature, just 20 seconds later the fridges are on and cooling. The first thing worth noticing about the Vinotemp is how quiet they are. Many reviews suggested very negative comments about wine fridges in general being extremely loud. Both of these fridges sit next to my bed and I never once awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of the compressors or other weird noises. Here is a quick flipcam clip of the sound. It sounds louder than it really is because I took the camera right behind the fridges. I have had these two fridges in my bed room for a year now and haven’t lost any sleep over the noise.
Edited by Jon Troutman
Weekly Wine Journal 